Dean slams the door of the Impala, looking around for anyone at the meeting point. Sam gets out and closes the door less loudly. Dean impatiently checks his watch. "They said now. Where are they?" He peers around, trying to spot the reason that they're standing in the darkened parking lot.
"They'll be here soon," Sam reassures him. Dean grunts back in response, leaning up against the Impala's side. His eyes are scratchy and heavy, he hasn't had a decent night's sleep since Cas was abducted, and he needs to lay his eyes on his angel already.
It's another twenty minutes before there's any movement. Dean flicks his eyes up to the moon, but it's not full. He nervously taps his toe on the ground, before a movement in the bushes catches his attention. There's a dark russet wolf standing just behind the tree line, watching them with lambent blue eyes. Dean's hand nearly goes to his gun, tucked into the back of his jeans, but he grits his teeth and doesn't move.
Another few minutes pass, and several other wolves appear, as well as a few humans. Dean automatically takes a few steps backwards to have Sam's back against his. Sam meets him halfway, and Dean lets out a small sigh of relief. He'd forgotten what it feels like to have someone at your back who you've hunted with for years, who you know can defend themselves and can have your back. Everyone at Phoenix had been fine, but Sam is his brother, someone who understands him. He hadn't clicked with anyone like Sam until Cas had come along, and they're still working on their relationship. He knows where he stands with Sam.
Dean relaxes marginally when he spots Madison. The female werewolf is human, wearing a dark green shirt and black jeans. Several more humans come out of the deep forest behind her, and Dean tries not to run to Cas when he sees the angel. He's wearing jeans and a shirt that are obviously too big for his lithe frame, and Dean surmises that he had to borrow clothes off one of the wolves.
"Dean," Madison calls out. Dean nods sharply, his eyes not leaving Cas. The angel is looking at him as well, his customary blank face in place. Dean feels a jab of fear, because being with Alastair changes you, and Cas had had more time with him than anyone deserves.
"Madison," he greets the werewolf. Cas picks his way out of the forest and across the car park towards them, obviously favouring one leg. Dean feels his hands clench at the sight, but forces his face to remain blank as Cas approaches. "Thank you for helping Cas."
"We expect it to be remembered," Madison tells him.
"It will be," Dean replies. The werewolves all disappear from sight, but Dean is sure that they're still there, watching to see what will happen next.
Dean doesn't wait for Cas to come to him. He strides briskly towards the rather worn looking angel, stopping a pace in front of him.
"Cas," Dean says shakily. Cas nods shallowly and Dean welcomes him when Cas takes a step forward and wraps his arms around him. Dean buries his face in Cas's hair, breathing the smell of him in and cherishing the feeling of the angel in his arms. Cas leans on him, taking the weight off his leg, and Dean welcomes that as well, more than willing to be something for Cas to support himself on.
Sam clears his throat in the background and Dean slowly pulls back. "We've got somewhere safe to go to. We can talk there," he murmurs quietly to the angel.
Cas nods and doesn't refuse the arm Dean puts around him to take some of his weight. He looks tired, and Dean's worry steps up a notch. Cas never looks tired unless something's wrong.
Dean opens the back and Cas sits down, leaning against the seat and closing his eyes. "Sam," Dean says, getting his brother's attention.
"Yeah?"
"You drive," Dean instructs, throwing him the keys and sliding in next to Cas.
The angel looks at him gratefully as Sam accepts the keys and gets in the driver's side after casting a worried look at them both.
"Are you okay?" Dean asks softly, after they've been driving for ten minutes. Cas's head is resting on his shoulder, but at his words, the angel looks up at him.
"I am…" He shakes his head. "I am not severely injured. I will heal."
Dean waits but nothing else comes. "And how are you feeling?"
Cas looks away from him. "I will be fine Dean," he replies, and even though the words are a dismissal, Dean can tell that he's grateful for the concern.
Dean tightens his hold on him slightly as Sam drives them towards the motel they had already booked and warded.
When they get there after nearly an hour's drive, it's nearly three in the morning. Cas had spent half the ride dozing on Dean's shoulder and half being jolted back into awareness when they had gone over a bump in the road. Dean's anxiety about the situation is rising, but he forces himself to be patient. Cas will explain everything when they get somewhere safe where they can listen to him fully.
That doesn't mean he lets go of him though.
Sam pulls up and Dean dips his head to look at Cas, who is fast asleep. "Cas," he murmurs as Sam gets out and opens the boot, taking everything they would need out of it. "Cas, wake up."
Cas tenses before he opens his eyes. He looks around the Impala before looking up at Dean. "We are here," he says, and Dean nods.
"Yeah. Sam booked this hotel so that no one would recognise me, and at this time in the morning, no one's going to be outside. It's safe."
Cas follows him, getting out of the car and going past the teen at the desk to the corner room on the first floor. Sam follows Dean in after him, and Cas rubs his arms, looking small as he surveys the room. Dean walks over to him to lightly touch his hand to Cas's elbow, not ready to stop touching him yet. Cas leans into it, and Dean fights the urge to wrap his arms around him again. Cas yawns, and Dean looks up at Sam.
"We can talk in the morning," Sam agrees.
"You fine with that, Cas?" Dean asks. Cas is waking up, but he doesn't look fully aware of his surroundings yet.
"It would probably be best if we talked now," Cas says, voice rasping over the words.
"We don't have to."
"You need to know," Cas assures them.
"Okay," Sam says, sitting down. "Tell us what happened."
Cas shifts his weight from foot to foot. "Dean, what did you do after Alastair took me?"
Dean sighs quietly. He sits down on the couch opposite where Sam is, and Cas sits down next to him. The angel immediately presses up next to him, and Dean only hesitates for a moment before hooking an arm around him, glancing at Sam briefly.
"I looked for you for a while, and killed the one demon that I hadn't already. Its phone buzzed and I picked it up. It was Alastair, and he said that he had you and that if I wanted you to stay alive I would do what he says." Dean tightens his arm slightly, and Cas edges closer. "After he hung up I called Sam and he flew down here right away. We met up at the airport and then went to the Roadhouse, and I explained everything to Sam, who told it all to Ellen and Bill. Ellen's probably told Bobby as well by now. We decided that as soon as Alastair told us anything about a location, we would get all of the hunters that we could and ambush him there to try and rescue you. But Madison called, and told us that you were with her, so we came as soon as we could to pick you up."
Cas isn't looking up at him, merely picking at a thread in his loose jeans. "My experiences were slightly more violent," he admits. "I woke up in a cell. There was a binding that prevented me from leaving, even though Alastair's spell had already ripped my Grace from me." Cas rubs his arms and Dean leans against him.
"So you didn't get yours back?" Dean asks, not knowing what answer he wants. He knows that Cas would probably be confused and anxious and troubled if the loss of Grace is permanent, but if it is, then Cas would be human. It would solve a lot of the problems that the future would have held for them, but Dean can't let himself hope for it, feeling shitty for even thinking that way about it.
Cas slowly shakes his head. "My siblings would have had theirs returned to them because it was not a completely effective spell. But my Grace was already distant from me, my links to it already wavering. It did not take much to sever them all together." Cas shudders slightly and buries his head in Dean's neck. Dean strokes his thumb over skin and doesn't try any platitudes on the angel. Cas wouldn't appreciate them. He looks over to Sam to see distress in his brother's eyes, and neither of them pressure Cas to continue before he's ready.
"Everything is so different," Cas murmurs, and Dean isn't sure that Sam could have heard that, so he just lays a kiss on his head in an attempt to comfort him.
Cas continues on a few minutes later, his head resting on Dean's shoulder. "A demon took me from the cell to talk to Alastair. The demon talked to me for a while, telling me that he had contacted you and that you were going to obey him for as long as he had me. I decided that I had to escape then." Cas pauses before he goes on, looking at the ground. Dean moves his hand to touch Cas's lightly and then to gently twine their fingers together.
Cas looks down at their hands and continues talking. "He had made the mistake of bringing my own blade in to interrogate me with. He thought that because I had lost my Grace I was helpless." Cas grins for a moment, something harsh and unforgiving. "He thought wrong. He took no precautions while transporting me to where he would start torturing me, and when I ripped my hair out of his grasp he pinned me up on the wall and started cutting me up there." Cas absently touches his chest and Dean can almost imagine the healing cuts on it. "When I refused to answer anything about Raziel's Sword he stabbed my thigh and let me sink to the ground. I let him believe I was insensate with pain, before taking the blade out of my leg and disemboweling him."
"Shit," Dean murmurs.
Sam shakes his head and is more vocal about his admiration. "I… That's seriously hard core Cas. I can't believe that anyone could do that."
Cas shrugs. "The hardest part was convincing him that I was helpless. After that I wondered through the maze until I found the exit. I ran up the stairs to the entrance –"
"With a stab wound in your thigh?" Sam asks, appalled. Dean has much of the same thoughts, and is looking at Cas worriedly.
"Yes. I killed the demons guarding the entrance, but only made it a few hundred metres into the forest before collapsing because of blood loss. That was where Madison found me, and she brought me back to her safe house after smelling your scent on me."
"What?" Dean asks, surprised.
Cas shrugs. "She simply said that I smelled like you, and from that she knew that we are a couple."
Dean feels his face heating up slightly and he ducks his head to avoid Sam's smile.
"And then we picked you up," Dean continued for him.
"After Elspeth sewed my wounds up and instructed me on how to care for them," Cas says. "But yes."
"It was a pretty insane few days," Dean mutters. He stands up and goes over to the small kitchenette in the room, pouring a glass of water for Cas. The angel stands and meets him half way across the room, and Dean takes a step towards Sam as he returns to where they had been sitting. Dean looks at Sam, and Sam rolls his eyes slightly.
"I left my stuff in the car," Sam says. "I'm going to go grab it, and then I think it'd be good for everyone if we all got a good night's sleep."
"Yeah," Dean agrees. Sam nods and leaves, shutting the door behind him.
Dean hardly waits until he's closed the door before he rounds on Cas. The angel looks up at him calmly, and Dean can't help the need to touch Cas that rushes over him. Cas puts the glass of water down on the table, as if he knows what Dean's thinking.
He crosses the room to Cas, grabbing the angel's shoulders and pulling him to him, pressing their mouths together fiercely, wanting to know that Cas is safe and here. Cas lets out a soft sound and immediately kisses him back.
Dean's hands immediately move, clutching Cas and not letting him go. The angel gasps into his mouth, and Dean revels in the taste of Cas's air. Cas's arms encircle him, one hand knotting in his hair and the other gripping his shirt tightly. Dean slides his hands under Cas's shirt, needing to feel skin, needing to feel Cas, needing to know that he's okay, needing to know that he's safe. The angel is warm and lax under his hands, and Dean pauses for a moment to get used to the difference. Cas used to be cold and hard, but now that he had lost his Grace, things are different.
Cas is breathing heavily, eyes searching Dean's face. Dean doesn't break eye contact as he tilts his head and touches their lips together again. Cas shivers, his back curving slightly as Dean pushes his hand up higher, feeling all of the skin that he can.
"I was worried," Dean admits softly, hand moving to Cas's front to press over his breastbone. The steady thud-thud of Cas's heart reassures him. "Scared."
Cas closes his eyes. "As soon as I got out, as soon as I woke up with Madison, all I thought about was getting back to you."
Dean doesn't want to think about what happened to Cas. Alastair had had him. Had known who he was. Involuntarily, his arms tighten on Cas.
"You're safe now," Dean promises. "You're here."
"I'm here," Cas repeats lowly, nodding. "I'm here."
Dean kisses him again. It's slower this time, but different than before. Going somewhere. Dean's hands grip Cas's shirt and he pulls it up over his head, breaking away from Cas for a moment to throw the shirt on the floor. Pleased with all the skin he can now touch, Dean's hands roam, tracing the contours of Cas's flesh. He touches the healing cuts gently, making sure not to disturb the scabs. The angel's hands are too tight where they grip Dean, but Dean doesn't mind, wanting the two of them to be connected, for them to be together, with nothing being able to separate them. Or at least nothing that won't bring them closer together, Dean muses to himself, as Cas's hands go to his shirt and they separate so Cas can pull it off.
Dean groans as their skin touches, and his lips go to Cas's jaw, nipping along the skin there as Cas touches him lightly. Dean encourages him to be firmer, letting Cas do what he wants to try and have the angel become more confident. Cas gradually becomes assured in himself, and Dean welcomes the stronger touches against him. He backs Cas up and pushes him against the wall, savouring the startled gasp the angel lets out. He stops sucking a hickey onto Cas's neck and returns to his lips, and feels the air between them heat up. Every place that Cas touches sets him on fire, and he moans when Cas's hand finds his hair again.
He grabs Cas's hips and grinds up against him, and that's what he's talking about, his cock twitching in his pants, Cas letting out a startled whine, hands scrabbling for purchase on Dean's skin. Dean fights down a smile as their kisses deepen, and his hands slowly move from Cas's hips to grip his ass, fuck yes that feels good, giving him leverage when he rubs up against Cas again, wringing another groan from the angel –
"Oh my god," Sam near shrieks, and Dean hadn't even heard the door open. He reluctantly lets Cas's mouth go, leaving the angel panting, eyes closed and head leaning back against the wall. He turns his head and gives Sam a glare, trying to ignore the involuntary movements of Cas's hips against his.
"What?" Dean grinds out, not letting Cas go. Sam is still standing there, looking at the ceiling or at the floor, but not at either of the people in the room.
"I… I'll get another room," Sam mutters.
"Yeah," Dean comments. "You do that. We'll see you in the morning." Sam nods stiffly.
"Good night Sam," Cas says breathily. Sam swallows.
"Good night Cas."
Dean looks at him flatly until Sam shuts the door. Then he turns back to Cas, who is looking at him with his eyes open. Dean feels a rush of gratitude towards Sam, as dorky and interrupting as he is. Cas has only just been introduced to humanity, and he spent the last few days recovering from his ordeal with Alastair. He's under enough stress without having to worry about his relationship with Dean as well.
So he kisses him lightly one more time before disentangling them. Cas blinks a few times, still breathing heavier than normal. Dean smiles at him.
"Well, at least we won't have to put up with him tonight. Although tomorrow he'll probably bitch at us for making him spend more money on another room." Dean rolls his eyes. "I'll deal with him."
Cas nods. "Your brother was not… comfortable seeing us like that," he comments, after a few seconds have passed.
Dean shrugs. "He's my brother. He wants to think of me as his brother, not… He doesn't want to think about me sleeping with anyone. Especially someone he knows and interacts with and who we're not going to leave behind in a week."
"So humans socially do not speak about the people they have sex with?" Cas asks, tilting his head slightly. "I thought it was something that is spoken about often."
Dean tries not to link the thoughts of 'Cas' and 'sex.' Especially after they had just made out against a wall for five minutes. And they're in a motel room. And Sam isn't coming back. He clears his throat before answering.
"Most people aren't comfortable seeing or thinking about people they know in a sexual way Cas. It's something private, usually. They wouldn't want anyone watching them, so they extend that to other people. Of course, some people are assholes, but we're just talking about Sam. He doesn't want to think about us… sleeping with each other."
Cas narrows his eyes thoughtfully. "Because you are his brother and he is my friend."
Dean nods, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah. He doesn't really want to think about what we get up to." He's looking at the carpet, because if he looks at Cas then he won't be able to resist going over and kissing him again. And he doesn't have to self-control to stop again.
"Does this apply to 'Public Displays of Affection,' or PDA, to use the colloquial term?"
Dean, against his better judgement, looks up. "Where on earth did you learn about those?"
Cas shrugs. "I have been observing the earth for many centuries. I investigate some things that I heard."
And instead of learning about what is socially acceptable he had looked up what PDA was in his angelic Google. Dean doesn't know whether to laugh or sigh.
"So does it?" Cas asks.
"Well, Sam would probably be fine with most stuff. He's a pretty great guy. But some other people might not take it as well. Particularly since we're in the south. Up north it's better." Dean scratches his head.
"Because you are male and I have a male vessel," Cas comments, and Dean is glad that he doesn't have to explain that. He shrugs unhappily.
"Yeah. Some people are dicks."
Cas nods sagely at that. "Very well."
"Lemme see your leg," Dean says after the silence hangs between them for a few seconds. Cas nods, and unashamedly takes his oversized jeans off, which nearly makes Dean choke. He sobers when he sees the bandage though, stained red from where some blood had leaked through.
"Sit down," he directs. Cas does, and Dean tries to ignore the muscled thighs under his hands as he takes a closer look at the injury. The bandage is done up well, which Dean thinks is good. "There any stitches here?"
Cas nods. "Yes. Elspeth told me how to care for it."
"That's good. They the fancy type that don't need to be removed?"
Cas nods again. "She says it should be healed in a few weeks. I think it will be healed sooner though."
Dean raises an eyebrow. "Why?"
Cas shrugs. "My Grace is gone, but it is not gone."
Dean tilts his head. "What?"
Cas purses his mouth. "I cannot explain it. It is gone, but it is still here. But there is nothing left to it. But I am not a human – not completely. And I suspect that I will heal faster than a normal human."
Dean's forehead is scrunched up. "So you're Graceless but not really?"
Cas rubs his hands over his face. "I suppose so."
Dean sighs. He's too tired to try and figure this out. "Let's just get some sleep."
"I would like that," Cas says. Dean takes his boots off and gets everything he needs to brush his teeth. He finds a spare toothbrush in his bag, and after defending how hygienic it is to Cas, he gets the angel to brush his teeth as well. Then he strips off his unnecessary layers and crawls under the covers, waiting for Cas to get out of the bathroom.
When the angel joins him in the dark of the room, Cas shyly curls up next him, and Dean doesn't resist the urge to kiss him. Cas lets out a small, happy sound when he does, and Dean pulls him closer. He makes sure that Cas is securely in his arms, the angel returning the favour by having Dean in a near vice-like grip. Dean doesn't mind it, as long as it means that Cas isn't going anywhere.
Cas is here. Cas is safe, with them. Alastair doesn't have him.
Those thoughts, as well as having Cas slowly slipping off to sleep beside him, make it possible for Dean to consider closing his eyes.
Dean wakes up before Cas does the next morning. He checks the time and decides that it's too early to be up yet. But he doesn't try to go back to sleep, soaking in Cas' presence and savouring the fact that he is here.
He hadn't woken up last night. That's probably why he was so rested. Something about Cas calms him in his sleep, makes it easier to avoid the nightmares that plague him. Sam would probably already be up, but Dean doesn't think that his brother is going to knock on their door after what he walked in on last night. Dean sighs silently at the thought, but Sam had already known that he and Cas are together, so he could deal with it. Dean isn't going to hinder his relationship with Cas because his brother can't deal with the fact that Dean is dating someone that he knows. Sam hadn't really been giving off that vibe though, so Dean dismisses the thought. He had probably just not been expecting that when he walked back into the room. That sounds more accurate to Dean, and he yawns, trying not to move too much. Cas has their legs twined together and not an inch of space in between them, and Dean doesn't mind it one bit. The heat of summer is beginning to fade, and they're in the between months when winter is getting closer, but isn't here just yet.
Cas's head is tucked up under his chin, and Dean absently blows a piece of hair away from where it had been tickling his face. Check out isn't until ten, so they have just over an hour to get out of here, and Dean wants to give Cas as much time to sleep as he could. He isn't used to dealing with things on the limited amount of sleep that Sam and Dean can cope with.
Even so, his need to use the bathroom is steadily increasing. He looks at Cas regretfully before trying to wriggle out of the angel's grip. It takes ten minutes, but Dean is standing next to the bed with Cas still sleeping on it. While he's in the bathroom he decides to take a shower, and quickly does that, coming out with a towel slung low around his hips and drying his hair off with another.
His eyes search out Cas and find him awake, still in bed, but definitely awake. There are slight dark circles under his eyes, but his gaze is sharp and alert.
"Good morning," Dean says, after a second has passed of them staring at each other. He crosses to Cas and leans down, kissing him lightly for a few seconds. Cas presses up into it, and Dean slowly stands back up after parting with him, leaving Cas sitting there in bed.
"Do you want to take a bath? You can't shower with stitches in your leg, but you should still get clean, and you can avoid getting it wet if you're careful enough." Cas tilts his head, but nods after a second.
"I should. Elspeth talked me through a few things when I told her that I was newly human. She said that most humans bath once a day, usually in the mornings."
Dean lifts one shoulder in a half shrug. "Yeah, I guess so. There's another towel in there, so just use that, and just give me a yell if you need anything. I can run it if you want?"
"I can do it," Cas replies, getting up and walking into the bathroom. Dean lets out a breath as the door closes, but Cas doesn't lock it. Dean tells himself very firmly that that isn't an invitation to join him, and finds some clothes to put on. He cleans up the room, checking everywhere to make sure that he hadn't misplaced something, but they had only been here for a short time, and most of it had been them sleeping. He can still hear Cas splashing around by the time he's finished, and Dean narrows his eyes at the bathroom door. The angel must just be taking his time.
Dean takes one look at the clothes that Cas had been wearing before throwing them in the bin. How Cas had been putting up with them he had no idea. Instead he picks out a shirt and some jeans from his own clothes that he thinks may fit the angel and goes to the bathroom door. There's no more splashing, and Dean doesn't need to open the door to see the steam coming out of the other room.
"Cas?" Dean asks, raising his voice slightly so that the angel can hear him. There's a pause before Cas responds.
"Yes Dean?"
"I've got some clothes here if you want to wear them."
There's another pause and then the door opens. Dean is blinded for a moment by the steam that rolls out of the room, but then he blinks and Cas is standing there, buck naked and obviously waiting for Dean to hand over the clothes.
Control yourself Winchester. "Here," Dean says, and is rather proud of the way he doesn't sound like he's squeaking.
"Thank you," Cas says, taking them and not bothering to close the door again. Dean forces himself to turn around and look out the window instead of staring at Cas's ass while he got dressed.
"Check out's soon. Sam is probably already ready to go."
Cas makes an affirmative sound behind him, and Dean's mind can't come up with anything else to say while it's listening to the slide of fabric over Cas's skin.
Cas comes back into his plane of vision dressed, shoes in his hand. "You already packed everything?" He asks.
"Yeah. Put your shoes on, and we'll be ready to go."
Cas nods, and sits down to put his shoes on while Dean picks up the bag and looks around the room for the last time. Cas follows him as they walk down the hall and Dean gives the keys back to the woman at the front desk, who looks them over once before waving them outside.
Sam's looking shitty when they walk out of the motel, but Dean doesn't blame him after the way they basically kicked him out last night.
"You know anywhere around here that looks good for breakfast?" Dean asks, hoping that by letting Sam choose the place that they would eat, it would lessen his annoyance. He sees the acceptance of the apology in Sam's eyes as he responds.
"There's a diner on the corner that looked okay," Sam suggests, and Dean nods, not having any problems with that. The all get into the Impala and roll out of the parking lot, finding parking easily in the small town. Inside the diner, a waitress smiles at them as she seats them in a small booth, Cas sliding in opposite Dean, next to Sam.
Sam immediately picks out some healthy salad crap that he's into, and Dean asks for the bacon and egg special. Cas echoes him, but Sam stops the waitress before she can walk away.
"You don't have to follow Dean you know," he says. "Try something else."
Dean shrugs when Cas looks at him, so Cas looks at the menu, brow furrowed.
"How about some yoghurt with mixed berries and muesli?" Sam points to something on the menu.
Dean grimaces. "Don't have him eat that crap," he admonishes.
"It's not 'crap,' Dean. Cas should try everything before he can decide what he likes most. Give him a chance." Sam turns his puppy eyes on Cas, and Dean doesn't blame him for wavering in the face of that.
"Fine. Cas, have some healthy stuff. Then we can both laugh in Sam's face while we eat real food. Add three coffees to that, one black, two white."
The waitress jots something down on her pad and walks off. Sam snorts at him and opens his laptop, somehow getting Wi-Fi on it. Dean sometimes thinks that there's some sort of spell in place that allows Sam to get Wi-Fi anywhere, since his brother never has any trouble with it.
"So," Sam starts, eyes scanning his computer. "What's next? What are we doing?"
"We must find Raziel's Sword before Heaven or Hell can locate it," Cas says lowly. "It is becoming close to the date when it will be found." Cas shakes his head slowly. "Over a hundred years of searching – everyone is getting close. The Sword cannot be allowed to fall into Hell's grasp. They would use it to march on Heaven, and then take over earth. Heaven would use the Sword to restore the balance between the two, but then they would be the winner in any conflict, as it has been for eons." Cas furrows his forehead. "It is better that they be equal in strength. I have seen it even the balance not just between Heaven and Hell, but between all creatures in existence."
"You don't want Heaven to win easily?" Dean asks, surprised.
"It would be better if they had to work for their victories instead of simply being handed to them. It produces laxness, and that is why we lost Raziel and Gabriel in the first place. Only Father knows what could happen if the demons are successful in infiltrating Heaven again."
The waitress comes back with their coffee, and Sam starts gulping his down. Cas sips his carefully, while Dean drinks his black, like always.
"Makes sense," Dean says. "So then what are we going to do next? It's the demon's turn to search, right?"
Cas nods. "Yes. I do not know where they will complete it, so we cannot eavesdrop on the ritual. And I do not know the next ritual that Heaven were to prepare, so we cannot complete that one."
"So we've got the information that we have now, and nothing else?" Sam asks worriedly.
"Yes," Cas answers.
The waitress gives Sam his salad and Cas his yoghurt. Sam eagerly digs in while Cas cautiously dips his spoon into the yoghurt and tastes it. He's always like this the first time that he tastes anything, and Dean sees the customary widening of his eyes and keen licking of the spoon that signals that he likes something. Dean sighs and rolls his eyes as Cas tells Sam that he likes it. It was inevitable that Cas would side with Sam on some things, he thinks to himself, ignoring Sam's triumphant look.
"We need somewhere where we can organise ourselves," Cas says, frowning at the table. He looks up at Dean, meeting his eyes. Dean can see anxiety rolling around in them, and reaches across the table to touch his hand for a second. Cas takes a deep breath and nods slightly.
"We could head back to the Roadhouse," Sam says. "Ellen might skin us if we leave her out of this."
Dean smiles. "True. And I have a feeling that we're going to need all of the help that we can get." Cas nods solemnly, while Sam runs a hand through his long hair. "We might not have superpowers, Cas, but we have our own family, and we can handle ourselves just fine."
Sam snorts and Cas tilts his head. "So it's decided then?" Sam asks, looking between the two of them. Dean and Cas nod, and Sam scoops up some more of his salad. They continue eating their breakfast, Sam scanning his computer while he does so.
"I've been thinking about something," Cas tells Dean, obviously not talking to Sam. There's no way that Sam wouldn't be able to hear it though, so Dean assumes that it's something that the angel wouldn't mind him hearing.
"Yeah?" Dean asks.
"I would like to have sexual intercourse with you," Cas says normally, as if they are talking about the weather.
Dean and Sam simultaneously choke on their coffee.
"And that's my cue to leave," Sam says, closing his laptop, getting up and near running away. Dean spends a minute trying to get all of the coffee out of his lungs. Cas looks at Sam's retreating back with concern, and then turns his gaze on Dean.
"You…" Dean can feel his mouth hanging open. "You can't just come out and say that, Cas." He splutters. "Especially not in front of other people." Especially not in front of Sam, some part of him is screeching, but he ignores it.
Cas frowns. "Why not?" He asks. "I ask you about other things, and we discuss them. I wish to discuss this with you."
Dean stares at the angel for a second before giving up. Cas isn't aware of the social niceties that surround this issue, and Dean doesn't particularly feel like educating the angel in them. Besides, this is very Cas, and they were going to have this conversation eventually, so why not have it now?
"Look, remember what I told you about last night? That includes talking about us," Dean gestures between them, "In any way that Sam would be uncomfortable with, okay?"
Cas frowns. "Very well. I will not bring it up again. But I still want to talk about it."
"Okay, Cas," Dean says, rubbing the back of his neck. "Since you started this, you can talk first." He can talk while Dean gathers his thoughts about the issue, and tries to think up a way to apologise to Sam.
Cas nods. "Very well. I have been thinking about intercourse ever since we started our relationship. It is a way to express trust and intimacy, and I wish to share that with you, but I know that you were sexually abused both as a child and as an adult, so I was hesitant to bring up the issue. But you succeeded in making me want…" Cas hesitates for a second. "More, last night, when you stopped."
Dean just blinks. He can't even begin to think of a reply.
"I would have liked you to continue to do what you were doing, but I understood that we had not talked about such a step in our relationship. So I am rectifying that, by talking about it with you now."
Dean takes a steadying breath before he replies. "Look Cas, it's great you want more. But it doesn't have to suddenly happen, you know? We can ease into things. And also," he continues, gesturing at Cas. "What about your meat suit? Does he consent to having his body used like that?"
Cas frowns. "Jimmy? His soul was granted salvation in Heaven before I was taken in for re-education. It is considered cruel to put the vessel through what we go through while being retrained, so their soul is released from the body."
Well. That was one problem solved, anyway. Dean had always been a bit weirded out by the thought that maybe there was someone else in there with Cas.
Sam is chatting with the cashier, not ordering, just talking. Dean looks at his weird salad breakfast food, and decides that his brother's had enough of the stuff to not complain if they leave.
"Finish your food," Dean instructs, and Cas does, for all the world looking as if they're discussing something completely normal. Dean decides right there that he's never going to get used to Cas's quirks.
Cas obediently scoops up the rest of his yoghurt while Dean finishes his bacon and eggs. He throws some cash down on the table and Cas follows him over to where Sam is standing.
"Hey, time to go," Dean says.
Sam looks at him with a Bitch FaceTM but Dean ignores it, brushing past his brother and trying to get onto a new topic so that he could focus on anything other than what he and Cas had been talking about.
"You ready to go?"
"Yeah," Sam grumbles.
"Good," Dean mumbles, leaving the diner and walking out towards the Impala is. "Come on," he calls to the two other people who are with him. They walk over, one more willingly than the other, but both get into the car.
The trip to the Roadhouse doesn't take too long, and they get there just as the staff are preparing to open the doors to the dinner customers. Bill is behind the counter, and he looks up at their entrance. Dean sees the relief that goes over his face
"Dean, Sam. Your task went smoothly, I assume?"
Dean gestures to Cas. "Yeah."
"You'd better get in the back while we set up. When we open you can come sit out here."
"Okay," Sam says.
The three of them go through the door marked 'Staff Only.'
"I'm gonna go shower. You guys hang around, and we'll talk strategy after everyone leaves."
Dean nods, and his brother leaves, walking down the hall towards the bathroom.
Dean turns to Cas. "Let me give you the tour," Dean tells him. Cas nods.
"I would like that. To see where you grew up."
Dean shrugs. "I didn't really grow up here. Sam did more than me."
"But it is still the first place that you really called home."
Dean looks away from Cas, whose eyes are too knowing. "Yeah, maybe," he agrees.
He leads Cas through the non-restaurant part of the building, showing him where the bathroom is and where the small kitchen is. He only takes him to the door of the industrial kitchen, where the kitchen staff are running around, fulfilling orders and cooking meals.
He shows Cas the backyard and the panic room, which has almost every defence against the supernatural known to the hunting community. Cas looks suitably impressed, and so is Dean, until he remarks that there's nothing to stop angels from coming inside.
"You're right," Dean says, looking around the room. He takes his knife out of its sheathe and makes a cut on the back of his arm. Cas frowns at him, but Dean simply steps up to the wall and starts drawing the sigil against angels, copying the same glyph that he had drawn many times in his own apartment. He has to widen the cut a little to get all of the blood that he needs, but he feels the ward close around them with the slight change in air pressure.
He wipes the blood off on his jeans and rummages around in the draws until he comes up with a bandage. He starts to awkwardly try to tie it on himself, but Cas takes it from him, carefully putting some cotton on the wound before winding the bandage around it and fastening it.
"I do not like that you have to do that," Cas says unhappily. Dean wraps his uninjured arm around the angel and kisses him softly, knowing what the angel is talking about.
"It's fine Cas. I lived without your mojo before, I'm sure that I can cope now."
Cas still looks worried. "But I cannot heal you now. What if –"
Dean kisses him again to stop the sentence. When he draws back Cas's eyes are still anxious.
"I'm going to be fine Cas. I'm worried about you, though. This whole thing with your Grace…"
Cas's eyes go soft. "I had already accepted the fact that I would Fall Dean. When I made the choice to stay with you, I knew that it would happen. Grace is jealous, and it wants to be the only thing inside my heart. But you took your place there without consulting me first. This," Cas says, looking down at himself, "Just came sooner than I expected it to."
Dean doesn't know what to say, so he just leans down again. This kiss lasts longer than the ones before it, and Dean is sure that Ellen would be looking for them soon.
"I don't know why you've done all this for me," Dean whispers. He doesn't understand why something as beautiful as Cas would want to associate with him, after all that he's done.
Cas slides his hand up and settles it into the handprint on Dean's shoulder. Dean shivers slightly as his awareness of Cas sharpens.
"You do not know how I see you. I do not know why you have chosen me, Dean Winchester," Cas says solemnly. "But I will strive to make you see all that is beautiful about yourself, as I am sure that you will strive to make me see everything you find lovely about me. We shall endeavour to make each other better. I promise you this."
Dean squeezes Cas involuntarily. "Yeah Cas," he says, clearing his throat after the two words. "I promise as well."
It's Cas that kisses him this time.
"There you are," Ellen drawls. Dean reluctantly lifts his mouth from Cas's to look at his foster-mother, not knowing how much time had passed. She's looking at them with an eyebrow raised, and Dean reluctantly steps away from Cas. The angel looks at Ellen with his head tilted.
"Good evening Ellen," Cas says.
"Good evening boys."
"Hey Ellen," Dean mutters, embarrassed to have been caught with Cas, like it was the first time he'd kissed someone or something.
"We had two waiters call in sick – could you fill in one? If you remember how to, that is," she says, smirking.
"Of course," Dean replies instantly. "Anything you need."
"What have you done to my room?" Ellen asks sharply, finally realising there are new decorations.
"Angelic wards. To keep the halos out," Dean explains.
"And what have you done to yourself?" Ellen asks, scowling at him.
Dean shrugs. "The wards need to be completed in human blood," Cas clarifies.
"Well you can't wait like that. It's unsanitary."
"Sorry," Dean mumbles.
"But I still need another hand," Ellen muses. She turns to Cas. "You feel like working for your stay?"
Cas blinks. "I have never done anything like his before," he warns.
Ellen shrugs. "You can't screw things up too badly. It's just taking orders to the kitchen, and then taking them back to their table, essentially. I'll get Jasmine to talk you through it in more detail."
"Very well," Cas says agreeably.
"You head down to the kitchen and ask for Jasmine. She knows that I was sending down somebody. Tell her that it's you."
Cas lingers for a moment, staring at Dean, before he leaves the room.
"Dean," Ellen says casually, after Cas has been gone for a few seconds.
"Yeah?" Dean asks hesitantly, not liking her tone of voice.
"You're washing your sheets before you leave."
Ellen walks out of the room, and Dean is glad for it, because that means that she doesn't see that his face is on fire.
He walks out to the main room to find Sam in their normal booth, clicking away on his computer. He turns around and gets some of his guns from his room. Sam looks up at him when he sits down with a glance at the guns in his hands before going back to his computer. The restaurant opens, and people start coming in for dinner. It isn't long before there's a near full house. Dean wonders if the Roadhouse is always this popular, or if this is an exception.
Dean flashes a smile at Cas as he whizzes past, three plates in his hands.
"He's not doing too badly for his first time," Sam comments.
"Yeah, not too bad," Dean replies, wondering if some of Cas's perfect angelic memory had stayed with him, because he isn't carrying around a notepad, and he certainly hadn't known the menu before tonight, and yet he is quoting it to several people sitting at a table near the entrance.
The dinner rush comes and goes, Sam doing who knows what on his computer while Dean carefully cleans the guns he has on the table in front of him. When that's done he goes and puts them back in his room, and by the time he comes back most of the people who aren't hunters have left. Dean orders his usual food off Cas, smiling at him the whole time.
Cas smiles at him in return before he leaves with their order. Dean watches him walk around the restaurant like he had been there for years, and when he comes out with their order, he's carrying three plates.
Dean moves over for him, and Cas sits down after putting their food in front of them.
"Ellen said that I should have dinner with you, and that I did well for my first time."
Sam nods. "That's high praise from Ellen. She doesn't give out compliments easily."
They eat their food, Cas meticulously consuming every crumb on his plate while Dean talks with Sam about Jess and Alicia. Cas asks the occasional question before he and Sam start discussing the small things in Sam's life, and Dean is left on the outside of their conversation, smiling at the two of them talking.
Ellen flushes out all of the patrons who aren't hunters, but there are a smaller crowd of them than normal, and she's able to get most of them out before one. Everyone spends another hour cleaning up before Ellen pulls out a map of the world and a few markers at Dean's request.
"Okay. Castiel. You are going to tell me, in greater depth than what these two could manage, what exactly is going on."
Cas starts an in depth break down of the events that led to Gabriel and Raziel disappearing from Heaven. Dean tunes it out, watching Cas explain it to his foster parents, Bill perching on the bar. Sam nods along to the explanation, probably appreciating the exact chain of events. He had only heard Dean's garbled explanation after Cas had been kidnapped, and Cas had been talking for a few minutes and isn't out of Heaven yet.
Cas picks up the permanent marker and starts drawing on the world map, putting the same markings that he did the first time he explained it to Dean on there, as well as the one that they just discovered, talking about that as he did so. Then he picks up the smaller map that is just America and marks the more precise locations there, including the degrees in which each direction is. Ellen and Bill look on, asking questions about the locations and why they were chosen, and which ones were the demons and which were the angels. Cas answers them all confidently, explanting the process that Heaven and Hell had gone through in far deeper detail than Dean had.
"I think that it is in this area," Cas says, finishing talking and circling the border of Idaho and Utah, with more space in Idaho than Utah.
Everyone looks at the map for a while. "Is there anything supernaturally important in the area?" Sam asks. Cas picks up a different pen and draws lines on the map and waved and twirled for no apparent reason, going off into the ocean or into Canada or Mexico.
"Ley lines?" Dean asks. Cas nods.
"Yes. And these are significant sites, which either have a large amount of energy or where energy can be gathered."
Cas marks several more dots on the map.
"I'll go and print off a bigger version of that," Bill says, pointing at the circled area. Cas doesn't take his eyes off the map as the older man leaves, going into the back of the building.
"I have several ideas of possible locations, but really, I think that we needed one more spell to really narrow down where the Sword could have fallen."
"Well that's not happening, from what you've told us," Ellen says.
"No," Cas says quietly. "It is not."
There's silence as everyone stares at the map. "Is there anything we can do to narrow it down some more?" Dean asks, rather hopelessly.
"Not particularly. The Sword does not want to be found."
"Will you know when either side finds it?" Sam asks.
"There will likely be a message sent through the celestial plane."
"But can you still pick that up?"
Cas grimaces at the question. "Maybe. I do not know."
"Do you know anywhere it could be?" Ellen asks.
Bill comes back in holding a large map of Utah, Idaho and Wyoming. Cas immediately copies the symbols from the larger map onto the smaller one, being more precise about the lines and where they run.
"I have several ideas," Cas says, frowning at the map. "But I do not know if the Sword will be there."
"I don't think there's anything else we can do," Sam says. Dean stares at the map, looking it over.
"So we go and check out these sites? Cas, where are they?"
Cas starts marking several sites at Dean's question. "There are four which I think could hold it. But I would have to be close, very close, in order to sense it."
"How close?"
"Within two hundred metres."
Dean sucks in a breath and lets it out slowly. "That's going to be hard."
Cas nods. "It's why we didn't just try to search for it. The spells help immensely."
Ellen starts writing on the side of the map, general things about the sites and how they would be able to get to the locations that Cas had marked. Bill and Sam lean in as well and start commenting on Ellen's notes.
"I would think that it would be unwise to investigate the sites," Cas advises.
"Why?" Bill asks.
"If I think that they are possible sites, then it is very likely that either Heaven or Hell or both have a presence there. They will be searching for Dean, and the Host is searching for me. Any demon knows that Sam is Dean's brother and both sides most likely know who you all are as well. If we wish to lead them right back here, then going to these sites is very good way to do so."
There's silence for a few seconds after Cas finishes talking. Dean looks at the map and the sites marked on it.
"It can be what we do when we have no other option," Dean says. "Until then, we lay low, listen for anything that's happening, and prepare for what's next. We're all in this together, right?"
Everyone around the table nods, and start discussing ways to approach the sites without being seen while exchanging their favourite way to kill a demon. Dean smiles at them, but is distracted but Cas yawning. Dean frowns for a second before leaning over and whispering in his ear. "They'll talk for a while more, but you're tired. Let's go to sleep."
Cas looks up at him for a second before looking back at the others, who are crowded around the map. He nods, and Dean smiles for a second.
"Cool. You go brush your teeth. I'll just tell them we're going to sleep."
Cas heads off towards the bathroom, and Dean buts in on Sam's sentence.
"Cas and I are going to bed. We'll see you in the morning."
"Oh," Ellen says, looking surprised. "It's still pretty early." She raises an eyebrow and Dean decides to ignore the thought that must be going through her mind.
Dean shrugs, going for nonchalance. "We're tired. Good night."
He's met with a round of response 'good nights,' and Ellen's smirk, and before he's out of the room, they're discussing everything again.
He brushes his teeth and then finds Cas standing in the doorway of his room.
"How did you know that this was mine?" Dean asks him, looking at the unassuming room.
Cas shrugs. "I did not know for sure. It simply felt right." He drifts inside, and Dean shakes his head, knowing that he's not going to get a better response than that. He closes the door after himself, and doesn't bother turning the light on, knowing that the streetlamp from outside usually gave more than enough illumination.
He toes off his boots and throws his socks at them, putting them next to Cas's shoes. The angel is looking out the window to where there are still a few cars in the cark park, even though it's late.
Dean puts his hands on the windowsill either side of Cas and leans on him slightly, resting his head on the back of his neck. Cas moves his hands so they're touching Dean's.
They stand there for a few minutes before Dean kisses the back of his neck. Cas shivers slightly as Dean toys with the hem of his shirt for a few seconds before tugging it upwards. Cas lets it be stripped off him, sighing softly.
Hipbones this sharp should be illegal, Dean muses as he runs his thumbs over them. He's been admiring Cas in his clothes all day. It made something possessive rise in him, seeing Cas walking around with them on. But he looks better without them, Dean decides, leaning down to nip at the side of Cas's neck.
Cas rolls his head back and reaches up to twist a hand into Dean's hair. Dean takes advantage of the long expanse of neck, and starts licking it, sucking on patches of skin at random.
"Dean," Cas murmurs softly. Dean pauses for a second in his explorations to reply.
"Shh, Cas. Just go with it."
Cas lets out a shaky breath as Dean's thumbs hook under his jeans. Dean frowns, settling them in deeply, but still not finding anything.
"Didn't you put on any underwear this morning?"
"You didn't give me any," Cas replies breathily. That stops Dean for a moment before he returns to licking at Cas's skin, sucking on the bolt of his jaw. He takes a step forward, so that Cas is pinned. The angel lets out a small sound as Dean rolls his hips forward, rubbing his dick on Cas's ass, and fuck, it feels good.
Cas wriggles around in his arms, and the logical thing to do is to kiss him, so Dean does. He's been left with two handfuls of angelic butt, and he's pleased with that as well. Cas tries to deepen the kiss, but Dean keeps it light, teasing him gently. Cas's free hand travels down his back and then under his shirt, feeling all the skin that it can. Dean rolls his hips again and is rewarded with Cas stuttering slightly. He kisses him again, working Cas's mouth open to lick at his tongue. Cas whines as the movements of Dean's hips become a gentle back and forth, just teasing, nothing serious yet.
Cas stops kissing him and gasps in a breath before attacking Dean's neck, licking and sucking frantically. Dean squeezes his ass in return and tilts his head back so that can get to more skin.
"You don't have to rush it," Dean advises softly. "Calm down."
Cas looks up at him as Dean takes his shirt off. He narrows his eyes and slowly dips his head down to start lapping at Dean's collarbone. Dean sighs softly at the attention, one hand rubbing up and down Cas's back with the other gripping his hip for leverage as he rubs them together.
Dean lets out a quiet moan as Cas sucks on a particularly sensitive piece of skin, but he leans back before Cas can start leaving noticeable hickeys. Cas looks up at him, but Dean just drags him backwards in answer, feeling the edge of the bed hit the back of his knees. He lets himself topple backwards, Cas letting out a small grunt as he lands on top of Dean. Dean wriggles onto the bed and pulls Cas on top of him and searches out his mouth.
Cas kisses him before going back to his chest, reverently touching him. It makes Dean slightly uncomfortable, the way that Cas is brushing his fingers and mouth across him like he's something precious and valuable, as if the angel thinks it could be taken away at any moment. Dean lets him explore while he strokes his back and runs a hand through Cas's dark locks, finding that they're just the right length to grab on to.
Cas takes his time, carefully tracing over what feels like every inch of his chest before coming back up to kiss him again. Dean takes the initiative and pushes Cas back to switch their positions, Cas sprawled out under him. He whimpers slightly when Dean kisses him again, hands going to the angel's hips.
"You don't have to," Dean starts, biting his lip.
"Hush," Cas interrupts. "I told you. I want this with you."
Dean rests their foreheads together. "And I said we didn't have to rush things."
"I do not think this is rushing things, Dean," Cas tells him softly. He reaches up and strokes a thumb over Dean's cheek.
Dean hesitates before kissing Cas again quickly. "Okay. But tell me if you want to stop. Anytime."
"I will," Cas promises him. "And you tell me if you want to stop."
Dean looks away for a second. "Yeah. Okay." Cas kisses him again, but Dean doesn't let himself be trapped by the warmth in his eyes or his mouth, moving down to kiss Cas's neck. Cas sighs softly and his hands come up to run through Dean's hair.
Dean lightly traces Cas's healing cuts with his mouth, treasuring every sound that the angel makes. He's still not sure why exactly Cas is here with him now, but he isn't going to look the gift horse in the mouth. Cas's hands tighten in his hair when he flicks his tongue over a nipple, and the sound he makes slowly makes Dean's belly heat up. He's careful not to disturb any of the healing wounds, but he takes his time learning the contours of Cas's skin with his mouth and his hands. He tries to memorise what he has to do to make Cas gasp and moan, liking the sounds that the angel's making.
Cas is still wearing his jeans, and he's probably in pain now, so Dean slides back up to his mouth while his hand slips down. Cas lets out a small whine when Dean presses the palm of his hand to the bulge in his jeans, and Dean decides that he's put Cas through enough teasing for his first time. He unbuttons them slowly, hearing Cas's sigh of relief as he does so.
Dean is also feeling the pain of being stuck in his jeans, so he rolls off Cas for a second to undo them and squirm out of them, pushing them to the floor. Cas must think he's starting a trend, because Dean hears his pants fall to the ground a few seconds after Dean's.
Cas cosies up to him, wrapping an arm around his lower back and kissing him deeply. Dean feels his hand brush over the scar on his upper arm and he shudders as Cas becomes sharper in his awareness. The angel doesn't have anything on anymore, and Dean slides his hand down to get a handful of his ass, which is firm and round and begging to be touched. Cas doesn't seem to mind the groping, tangling their legs together and poking Dean in the stomach. Cas's hands slide down his back as he breaks off the kiss, and Dean lets him pull his boxers off, the angel throwing them away as if they're inconsequential.
Dean can't help the moan that escapes him when his cock slides over Cas's bare skin. Fuck, they hadn't even really done anything yet and he's feeling like he's going to fall apart.
Dean wraps his hand around Cas's cock, giving it a few tugs. The angel tenses and Dean looks up to find wide eyes staring at him.
"Is this okay?" Dean asks quietly. Cas leans forward and kisses him in answer, desperately panting into Dean's mouth. Dean smiles against his skin, tightening his grasp.
"Dean," Cas keens softly. The heat in Dean's stomach moves lower at the sound, and he moves so that he can slide their dicks together in his hand, Cas's hands tightening where they rest on him.
Dean matches up the movements of their hips, causing himself to groan softly. Cas is here and is doing this with him, and is enjoying it and that's certainly helping Dean along downstairs. The angel is letting out gasps and moans, bringing their mouths together sloppily and throwing his head back when Dean squeezes his hand around them both.
"So fucking hot, Cas," Dean gasps, kissing the other man. Cas's hips are moving against his own, and his eyes are half closed and unfocused. "Cas," Dean pants. "Cas, look at me."
Cas's blue eyes open and Dean twists his hand sharply. He bites his lip as Cas's eyes slide closed and he lets out a deep throated groan as white jumps from his cock. Dean keeps working them, chasing the edge that Cas is toppling off, feeling his gut tighten and vision start to spark, instinctively biting down on Cas's shoulder as he comes.
Dean opens his eyes, blinking at the ceiling. Cas's head is resting on his chest, over his heart, and his fingers are tracing lazy patterns over his skin. He turns his head slowly, not really wanting to move but needing to see Cas.
The angel looks blissed out and ready to fall asleep at any moment. Dean shifts slightly and winces at the stickiness covering him. He gently pushes Cas off him to sit up and reach for the bedside table, to open the drawer and pull out a few tissues. He mops as much of their come up as he can from himself, and then pays attention to Cas, not wanting him to wake up uncomfortable. Cas looks at him sleepily as Dean puts it back on the table and pulls the covers up over them both. Cas moves towards him and Dean wraps an arm around him, pulling him close. Cas kisses him softly before sighing and settling down next to Dean.
Dean doesn't fight the urge to sleep, closing his eyes and holding Cas close.
Castiel settles down beside Dean, sighing softly. Dean's fingers are gently swiping across his skin, but they soon slow and stop, Dean's breathing becoming regular. Castiel worms his head underneath Dean's, close enough to hear the steady beat of his heart in his throat. He closes his eyes, the darkness beckoning him into sleep. He does not give into it yet, savouring the feeling of Dean pressed up against him. For all of the assuredness he had displayed while talking to Dean's family, he is not sure where exactly the Sword would have fallen. He is just guessing, using the knowledge that he has to try and help Dean when it is most needed.
He does not know, really, what is going to happen in the future. He does not know where the road they are following will lead them. He does not know how the century long conflict will end – he can only hope for the best.
He can only hope that they will all come out of this alive.